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Jammin' the Blues

  • 1944
  • Approved
  • 10m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
1K
YOUR RATING
Lester Young in Jammin' the Blues (1944)
DocumentaryMusicShort

Created under the guidance of jazz impresario and Verve Records founder Norman Granz, this short captures the spontaneity of a jam session and is one of few film records of black jazzers of ... Read allCreated under the guidance of jazz impresario and Verve Records founder Norman Granz, this short captures the spontaneity of a jam session and is one of few film records of black jazzers of the day including tenor sax legend Lester Young.Created under the guidance of jazz impresario and Verve Records founder Norman Granz, this short captures the spontaneity of a jam session and is one of few film records of black jazzers of the day including tenor sax legend Lester Young.

  • Director
    • Gjon Mili
  • Stars
    • Lester Young
    • George 'Red' Callender
    • Harry Edison
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    7.9/10
    1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Gjon Mili
    • Stars
      • Lester Young
      • George 'Red' Callender
      • Harry Edison
    • 21User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Photos16

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    Top cast13

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    Lester Young
    Lester Young
    • Self - on Tenor Sax
    George 'Red' Callender
    George 'Red' Callender
    • Self - on Bass
    • (as Red Callender)
    Harry Edison
    Harry Edison
    • Self - on Trumpet
    Marlowe Morris
    • Self - on Piano
    Sidney Catlett
    Sidney Catlett
    • Self - on Drums
    Barney Kessel
    Barney Kessel
    • Self - on Guitar
    Jo Jones
    Jo Jones
    • Self - on Drums
    • (as Joe Jones)
    John Simmons
    • Self - on Bass
    Illinois Jacquet
    • Self - on Tenor Sax
    Marie Bryant
    Marie Bryant
    • Self - Singer and Dancer
    Archie Savage
    Archie Savage
    • Self - Dancer
    Garland Finney
    • Self
    • (uncredited)
    Knox Manning
    Knox Manning
    • Narrator
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Gjon Mili
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews21

    7.91K
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    Featured reviews

    10wglenn

    Lester Smooths It Out

    Maybe the greatest film ever about jazz.

    It IS jazz.

    The opening shot continues to haunt my reverie.

    Lester, of course, is wonderful and out of this world.

    Jo Jones is always a delight (see The Sound of Jazz as well).

    If you can, find the music; it's available on CD.

    All lovers of jazz and film noir should study this tremendous jewel.

    What shadows and light - what music - what a hat!
    Michael_Elliott

    Very Good

    Jammin' the Blues (1944)

    *** (out of 4)

    Jam session with some of the top Jazz musicians of the time including Barney Kessel, Lester Young, George Callender and Harry Edison. If you're a fan of Jazz then you'll really enjoy this short, which features some really funky sounds as well as a great song by Marie Bryant. It's a shame this only ran 11-minutes because it could have easily been expanded. A funny sidenote and a bit of reverse is that Barney Kessel is the only white person playing in the band. The director kept him in the shadows to hide the fact that he was white and also put berry juice on his hands.
    8bkoganbing

    "This Rover's Crossing Over"

    Jazz aficionados will treasure this classic short showing some of the best men of jazz just doing their thing. It's like watching a no frills music video today.

    The jazz men give us an additional treat in the person of Marie Bryant who sings a classic version of On The Sunny Side Of The Street. I had never heard her sing before, Bryant sounds remarkably like Billie Holliday. That's a compliment folks.

    Their instrumental work is tops as well. With the black cinema of its time fed a lot of white stereotypes, this film is to be watched and treasured. No great production values, just a lot of good music.
    10kennethwright45

    Cool for cats

    Simply but imaginatively filmed studio-set performance short, a perfect match of music and images that defines the very coolness of cool and the hipness of hip. The precise visual and musical arrangements give the lie to its claim to be a record of a jam session: what it is, is a pop video - every bit as stylised and knowing as that implies, and all the better for it. Among the very best music films ever made, and almost certainly the most cinematic. These cats are solid gone, daddy-o ...
    JAZZMAN24

    HARDCORE JAM SESSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I have seen this ten minute short several times on T.C.M.it is a swinging jam session featuring some of the GREATEST jazz musicians that every lived. It has been told that when they filmed this short at the Warner Bro.studio lot that some of the great actors with Warner Bro. such as Humphrey Bogart, Bettie Davis, Edward G. Robinson Etc. stopped what they where doing to hear this jam session through out the day. One damper on this short was the fact that Barney Kessell was filmed silhouetted so that a white musician was not identified playing with black musicians.

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    Related interests

    Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
    Documentary
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    Music
    Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
    Short

    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Reportedly, during the filming of this short, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart paid a visit to the set and observed filming (hearing that something great was happening). According to one musician, Bogart came up to him and said, "Are you getting paid good money for this? If you aren't, you should strike!"
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      Narrator: This is a jam session. Quite often, these great artists gather and play, ad lib, hot music. It could be called a midnight symphony.

    • Connections
      Featured in Added Attractions: The Hollywood Shorts Story (2002)
    • Soundtracks
      Midnight Symphony
      (uncredited)
      Written by Lester Young
      Performed by Lester Young, George 'Red' Callender, Harry Edison, Marlowe Morris, and Sidney Catlett

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 5, 1944 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Играя блюз
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 10m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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